Recently in my stories
@ironwillsilver reached out for help - her pieces had splotches that were turning orange (image on the right) the reason I love this community is because you all sent me over 100 messages to help ❤️(so I apologize that I can’t tag every single one of you! Here is the backstory - “I pickled (I use white vinegar), sanded with steel wool, tumbled a bit, then dunked in Jax Silver Blackener. Rinsed in water as the bottle directs- just after application- then polished. I went through this process a few times since I wasn’t getting the result I wanted.” Basically after troubleshooting this she figured out that the likely culprit was the steel wool was leaving remnants that were contaminating her pickle (as another piece also got the same spots.) Since this is an issue others are also experiencing, I wanted to share some of the thoughts shared with me! If you are noticing you are having an unexpected result with your patina, or the surface of the metal after it’s had a little time to oxidize (but you’ve ruled out steel contamination) you can check these other variables: the patina (is it expired, or compromised?) did you apply too much patina, was the ratio off, was there a left over polishing compound or anything else on the surface of your metal that could have reacted with the patina? Did you effectively stop the patina from continuing to be active on the surface? Is excess solder playing a roll? ⭐️ I know this is a bit different then my typical tip post but I thought it was a good topic that brought up a lot of important considerations! Let me know your thoughts in the comments and know this a safe place to ask questions! We all started as beginners
❤️#askmetalsmithsociety
